The great tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger and wit Al Cohn died 18 years ago tomorrow. He and his frequent tenor sax partner Zoot Sims were so closely associated, so compatible in every respect that they were often mentioned as if they were a single entity named Alan Zoot. As quick and inventive with words as he was with notes, Cohn was celebrated for his bon mots. Here are a few:

On being offered a Danish beer of the brand called Elephant—“Oh, no, I drink to forget.”

Handing a banknote to a drunken panhandler, then pulling it back—“Wait a minute, how do I know you won’t spend this on food?”

Acquaintance: Where are you living these days?
Cohn: Oh, I’m living in the past.

“Free jazz—like playing tennis without a net.”

When I was covering the White House and Watergate in 1973, I flew out of the Westchester County airport in White Plains, New York, to Washington on Sunday nights or Monday mornings and stayed in DC until late Friday. UPITN put me up at a place near its bureau south of the capitol, the Airline Inn. For a few weeks, Al Cohn was also staying there. He was polishing the orchestration for the musical Raisin, which was breaking in before it moved to Broadway. Most mornings, Al and I met for breakfast and talked about his work, my work, music, the state of the world, anything and everything. Then, he was off to the theater and I was off to a hearing room on the hill or a briefing by the White House press secretary. Those breakfasts with Al are among my fondest memories. After that I didn’t see him often, except in passing at a festival or in a club.

In the eighties, I was living and working in Los Angeles. Toward the end of 1988, a few weeks before he died, Al played at a place in Toluca Lake, the Money Tree. The rhythm section was pianist Ross Tompkins, drummer Nick Martinis and, as I recall, Chuck Berghofer on bass. Despite his obvious deterioration, Al’s playing was the most moving I had ever heard from him. The pianist, Lou Levy, heard Al much more extensively than I did, beginning in the 1940s when they were with Woody Herman. He had the same impression of Cohn’s playing at the Money Tree. Al was deep, measured and thoughtful that night, and swung with astonishing power. He sat with us between sets. We talked about Zoot. He told us that the last time they played together, when Zoot was dying, he was astonished that his friend could get on the stand, let alone lift the horn, but that he played as if he were twenty-five. “I don’t know where it came from,” Al said.

I know. It came from the same place in Al, the heart.

If you are thinking of building a Cohn collection—a splendid idea—here are three CDs you might start with:
You ‘n Me, one of his finest collaborations with Zoot.
Nonpareil, with a quartet including Lou Levy.
Heavy Love, a masterpiece of duo playing, with pianist Jimmy Rowles.

We’ll be moving on to other matters now, but you’ll find interesting comments on the Maynard Ferguson dispute or discussion, or whatever it was, here and here.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, a stretch of Central Avenue in Los Angeles was prime jazz territory. Hampton Hawes, Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry, Vi Redd and Billy Higgins learned and developed in clubs and jam sessions there, alongside veterans including Dexter Gordon, Roy Porter, Charles Mingus and Jack McVea. In recent years, fortunes along Central have declined, but help is on the way. A story by Jean Merl in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times gives details.

Nearly half a century has passed since Central Avenue slipped out of the limelight as the jazz mecca and heart of African American Los Angeles.
Long gone are the bustling eateries, shops and nightspots that had lined the once-vibrant street, then known to locals as simply “the Avenue.”
The famed Dunbar Hotel, which was host to such musical greats as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne in the 1930s and ’40s, currently houses low-income residents and social service agencies.
The neighborhood now is predominantly Latino and poor, with careworn storefronts, most sporting signs in Spanish.
But city officials hope to recapture some of the Avenue’s past glory with a $500,000 revitalization plan approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

To read the whole thing, go here.

Regarding John Salmon’s communique about Maynard Ferguson, a musician and historian writes:

Doug:
John Salmon would have made his case for Maynard Ferguson better without the hyperbolic prose. For example:
1) “Some, like his Roulette era albums of 1958-1962, and are unrivaled by anyone, including Basie and Ellington.”
I think that Ferguson’s ’57-’65 bands were among the best of their time, but I’ve never heard even the most hyper-partisans of MF make a claim like Salmon’s. “Endless taste wars” indeed, Mr. Salmon–I suspect that Maynard himself would blush.
2) “I love Maria Schneider, but name one kid drawn into jazz by her music.”
As a musician who teaches jazz at three universities and does clinics on three continents, I’ve observed much student interest in Maria’s music.
3) “And many of the guys in her bands came up through MF’s bands.”
I know most of Maria’s players (male *and* female, by the way) personally, and I know of only two who are MF alumni: Tim Ries and Keith O’Quinn. I may be missing at most one or two. A number of others are Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan, and Buddy Rich alumni.
—Bill Kirchner

And one is a graduate of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra. Tenor saxophonist Rich Perry was with Jones-Lewis, then the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and now plays in the current incarnation of those bands, The Vanguard Orchestra, as well as in Schneider’s.

John Salmon writes about the Rifftides review of Maria Schneider at Jazz Alley:

I’m amazed that anyone could write a piece on big bands and not mention Maynard Ferguson’s band, which is on the road 200 days a year. How is it possible to do a piece on big bands and ignore the one touring band still out there? Yes, there are larger groups that don’t tour (MF has 10 pieces, including himself), but who’s reaching the public, especially young people, for jazz?

Many critics like to dump on Maynard, but almost any MF album, other than the last few he did for Columbia in the 70’s, (when Freddie Hubbard and many other jazzmen were doing similarly dubious albums), is at least good. Some, like his Roulette era albums of 1958-1962, and are unrivaled by anyone, including Basie and Ellington. I love Maria Schneider, but name one kid drawn into jazz by her music. And many of the guys in her bands came up through MF’s bands.

Maynard’s drawn many thousands, as players and listeners, into this music. Before you scoff at Maynard as a player, note that Ellington wanted him on his band, and asked him to join several times. The question is, will jazz be “art music” solely, with no broad audience, or will it be music that retains at least enough popularity to employ all the music school graduates you spoke of?

I could list all the great players that came up through Maynard’s bands, but just talking about tenor players there are-Wayne Shorter, Joe Farrell, Don Menza, Carmen Leggio, Nino Tempo, Lou Tabackin, Mark Colby…and writers including Bill Holman (who you mentioned), Quincy Jones, Al Cohn, Johnny Mandel, Don Sebesky, Mike Abene, Jaki Byard, Kenny Wheeler, and dozens of others.

I’m upset about this, because the failure to mention Maynard is symptomatic of the cliquish nature of writing about the music. It’s not “Maynard or Maria”-it’s both. What about Chris Botti? Far too popular to get a mention here, no doubt. A fine player who deserves all the kudos he can get…and a far more interesting player than Wynton Marsalis.

Jazz’s endless taste wars are foolish and destructive. Dixie v. swing? Why not both? Bop v. swing? Why not both? Coltrane or Getz? Why not both? Why do we have to choose? For a while there, no critic had a word to say about any tenor player not named Coltrane.

Why not also promote talented people who are producing good music and who are able to maintain what little public interest there is in jazz? Unless there’s simply more snob appeal in being a fan of, and writer about, unpopular music.

—John Salmon

http://magrittejbs.blogspot.com

I disagree with little in Mr. Salmon’s comment, but I am not content to be set up as the straw man he wants to knock down.
I did not write “a piece on big bands.” I wrote a piece on Maria Schneider’s big band, prefacing the review portion with a few remarks on changed economic circumstances that generally keep big bands off the road.
My not mentioning Ferguson is not “symptomatic of the cliquish nature of writing about the music.” It is symptomatic of the fact that Ferguson does not now have a big band, regardless of its name (Big Bop Nouveau). Ten pieces add up to a medium-sized band, fourteen or more to a big one.
“Many critics” may “like to dump on Maynard.” I do not. Nor can I recall ever “scoffing at him as a player.” As an owner-operator of trumpets, I would be drummed out of the trumpet corps.
If Mr. Salmon thinks I fall into the category of critics who categorize music and promote “endless taste wars,” he hasn’t read much of my stuff. I invite him to do so.

There was a time when big jazz bands were so numerous and held in such esteem that the best of them might show up virtually anywhere in the United States, no matter how small the town: Duke Ellington in Fargo, North Dakota; Artie Shaw in Palacios, Texas; Woody Herman in Eugene, Oregon; Stan Kenton in Redlands, California; Count Basie in a succession of one-nighters across the upper Midwest. It was an era in which good music and popular music were often one and the same. The swing era thrived for only a decade or so. The bonanza of big bands began to fade in the late forties. By the end of the 1950s, it had pretty much played out. Now, most of the big bands that tour are attached to the names of dead leaders. They tend to play country clubs, corporate functions and—now and then—private parties of the wealthy.

There are, of course, innovative large jazz ensembles, among them The Vanguard Orchestra, the Bill Holman Band, the Mingus Big Band, Bob Brookmeyer’s New Arts Orchestra, the Jon Faddis New York Band, The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, the Blue Wisp Big Band, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the Mike Vax band, Holland’s amazing Metropole Orchestra, Germany’s powerhouse WDR Big Band and, perhaps most discussed these days, the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Chains of one-nighters used to draw bands across the country, providing music for millions and, at the swing era’s peak, employment and experience for thousands of young musicians. The supply of jazz players today is large, the demand for them small. The primary law of economics dictates that the few big bands mostly stay put, rehearsing regularly and working rarely—once a week when they’re lucky, and usually for little money. When they do travel, it is often to big European festivals, seldom to those in the U.S.

It is unusual, nearly unheard of, for a big band based on the east coast to tour in the west, so when the Maria Schneider Orchestra played Seattle’s Jazz Alley for two nights this week, the club was packed. Whether that indicates hunger for the music or response to all the publicity she has been getting lately is beside the point. The evening I was there, 350 people listened with concentration and appreciation to a cross-section of Schneider’s compositions from her five albums. She also unveiled two new pieces.

“Some nights are better than others,” the band’s baritone saxophonist, Scott Robinson, said afterward at the bar. “This was a good one.” Good for the band and for Robinson. His solo over the langorous subtleties of Schneider’s suspended ensemble backgrounds in “Sea of Tranquility” displayed his technical control and emotional range from the big horn’s deep bottom to its altissimo top, where most baritone players do not or cannot go. Robinson’s judiciously applied throat sounds and split tones contributed to the logic and beauty of the solo. In its creativity it was miles beyond what he did with the piece in Schneider’s 2000 CD Allegresse. Robinson has played it dozens of times since. Familiarity breeds insights.

It is a writer’s band, and the writer populates it with musicians who play her demanding compositions with virtuoso skill and provide ensemble cohesiveness that can come only from long, close association. Most of the band’s members have been with Schneider as long as Robinson has. They are from the cream of New York players and include some of the music’s most individual improvisers in a period of jazz not overflowing with individuality. Among the memorable soloists at Jazz Alley was Steve Wilson on “Sky Blue,” a new composition. Schneider told the audience that she wrote it after a friend died. It is a hymn, not a dirge. Wilson’s soprano saxophone tone has breadth and depth rather than the pinched snake-charmer sound favored by many who play the horn. His solo was a marvel of structural unity and passionate delivery. “He took my breath away,” said the woman on the next bar stool, “he’s beautiful.” (The bar is the best place in Jazz Alley for sight lines and balanced sound. Don’t tell anyone; I want to be able to get a seat there the next time.)

A new Schneider piece,“The Pretty Road,” is yet to be recorded, something to anticipate. It has to do with her memories of growing up in Windom, Minnesota, “the environment of my past,” she said. She has layered into it little references to things she recalls—church music, childhood songs, a meadowlark, the sight of the town from a hilltop at night. It is program music of a high order. She featured on flugelhorn and trumpet Ingrid Jensen, who soloed with the self-editing of increased maturity that leavens her spirited virtuosity. The dynamics of Schneider’s ensembles in the piece were meticulously shaped—almost micro-managed—by her graceful but definite conducting.
As the band was about to launch into its final number, a woman in the audience cried out, “Why don’t you sing, Maria?” Ah, of course, a pretty woman on a bandstand must be a singer. Every female jazz musician has dealt with the stereotyping a hundred times. Schneider responded with good humor, “Some night I’m going to do that. I’ll sing ‘My Ideal,’ and you’ll go running.”

Through the evening, there were fine solo moments from trombonist Rock Ciccarone, alto saxophonist Charles Pillow, Greg Gisbert on trumpet and flugelhorn, pianist Frank Kimbrough, tenor saxophonist Rich Perry and, in the flamenco surge of “Buleria, Soleá Y Rumba,” a wild few moments from tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin. McCaslin’s ardor was so appropriate to the spirit of the music, his solo so entwined with Schneider’s ensemble passages that when a man at the bar was moved to give a loud whoop, dagger stares from those around him discouraged further interference. It was a listening crowd. John Wikan on cajon and Peruvian percussionist Hugo Alcaraz swelled the band to twenty members for this three-part Spanish extravaganza. Following Gisbert’s memorable flugelhorn solo, the interaction among Wikan, Alcaraz and drummer Clarence Penn, punctuated hilariously by Penn’s cowbell triplets, concluded in a feat of rhythmic precision that brought the piece to an abrupt halt, setting off a joyous roar from the audience. Now it was okay to whoop.

Maria Schneider does not sing. She writes music. Her band sings it for her.

On OH! Say

Love your column and read it faithfully every day. Actually, the “Star-Spangled Banner” is a glorious and thrilling and quite triumphant melody and, if you think about it, is a pretty potent anthem, while “God Bless America” (tune I’m talking about here) is the worst sentimental garbage. The problem with “Star” is that it is difficult in that it has an innate theatricality, a grand opera quality, that is totally destroyed if you “pop music” it in any style; gospel, R&B, country, whatever. It takes a well-trained, classically-produced tone to reveal the melody in all its glory. If you can sing something “straight” and in tune and you have beautiful high notes, you’re in. Now, Aaron Neville can do that – I didn’t hear the performance but it sounds like too many cooks spoiling the broth – unnecessary. Aaron Neville has a beautiful voice and is representative enough of New Orleans – why were the other two even necessary – so much of these big spectacles is overdone and worthless from a sheer performers’ point of view. I wonder what kind of mess they will make of the Grammy’s this year.

—Vicki Seldon

Two points: (1.) When I wrote “God Bless America,” I meant “America The Beautiful.” Mea culpa. (2.) An evaluation of Mr. Neville’s vocal quality is a matter of taste and stylistic preference. At the Super Bowl, whether because of nervousness, bad luck or bad material, he used his voice poorly.

Hal Wilner (sometimes spelt Willner on the web), the producer, has put together some extraordinary collaborations on his tribute records to Mingus, Nino Rota, Monk, Poe, Weill and Disney. What’s more, most of them work. One of my favourites is Ringo Starr, Ken Nordine, Bill Frisell, Herb Alpert and Wayne Horvitz doing “When You Wish Upon A Star” on Stay Awake: Interpretations of Vintage Disney Films (1988). On this CD you also can experience perhaps the segue to end all segues – Sun Ra to Harry Nilsson!

I was also lucky (and old) enough to see many of the 20 episodes of NBC’s Night Music with David Sanborn when Hal was Producer. Couplings such as Sonny Rollins with Leonard Cohen, or Phil Woods with the NRBQ (New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) were not uncommon. Bring them out on DVD someone!

—John Kieffer

The collection of performers on Stay Awake is even more eclectic than Mr. Kieffer indicates. The CD also includes Suzanne Vega, Yma Sumac, Bonnie Raitt, The Replacements, Garth Hudson, Los Lobos, Betty Carter, Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blue, and James Taylor. Tom Waits sings, or rasps, “Heigh Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Aaron Neville of Super Bowl notoriety does the “Mickey Mouse March.”

The digital doctor and his aide have ministered to my invaluable, but not irreplaceable, electronic assistant, Mr. Dell. ‘Ol Dell is feeling considerably perkier and moving from task to task with dispatch. I think he’ll make it, after all. (Hat in the air. Spin Around. Big smile. Music up and out.) If you don’t get that, you haven’t watched the right reruns lately.
Speaking of up and out, I’m headed over the mountains to Seattle today to transact a bit of business and listen to the Maria Schneider Orchestra at Jazz Alley. I just learned from Jon Wikan that he will be adding his cajon to the rhythm section, bringing the size of the band to twenty. There must be staggering economics involved in transporting a big band from New York to the west, then up and down the coast. I’m glad that it can still be done.
There will be no new posts for a couple of days; I’m traveling sans laptop. I’ll plan to publish a report on the performance when I return to duty.

Introducing yesterday’s rendering (word chosen with care) of the national anthem at the Super Bowl, the booth announcer said that it was to be, in part, a tribute to New Orleans. Hasn’t that unfortunate city suffered enough? Granted, “The Star Spangled Banner” is a miserable piece of music and our national anthem should be “God Bless America,” but Francis Scott Keys’ song did not deserve the trashing it received from Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin and Dr. John. By comparison, the Seahawks got off lightly. Not only was the treatment a bad idea, but it was a bad idea poorly executed. The Rolling Stones might have done it better. Shame on everyone involved.